Peregrine Pollen

Peregrine Michael Hungerford Pollen (24 January 193118 February 2020) was an English auctioneer who headed Parke-Bernet in the 1960s after it was purchased by Sotheby's. He was known for expanding the auction house in North America, and bringing a dramatic flair to auctions.

Early life Pollen was born to Walter Michael Hungerford Pollen, a steel industrialist, and Rosalind Frances Pollen Benson, the daughter of Robert Henry Benson, a well-known London banker, on 24 January 1931. His grand-uncle was George Holford. He attended Eton College and read modern languages at Christ Church, University of Oxford.

As an auctioneer, he was known for having a dramatic flair. By 1966, the auction houses' sales were $23.5 million, and $38.5 million by 1970. before divorcing in 1972 and remarrying in 1978. Patricia Barry died in 2016. He lived in Norton Hall, Gloucestershire where he planted between 6,000 and 8,000 trees, and was a trustee of the Westonbirt Arboretum. Pollen died on 18 February 2020.